1 hour ago
1
James OlleyNov 13, 2025, 11:10 AM ET
The Premier League's summer of strikers is threatening to turn into a winter of woe. English clubs spent big on some of the most exciting forwards in Europe ahead of the 2025-26 season, yet most have struggled to live up to the hype so far.
Liverpool broke the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for £125 million, about as much as the combined fees paid by Manchester United for Benjamin Sesko and Arsenal for Viktor Gyökeres after both were heavily linked with moves to England for months.
- Arsenal's transfer plans: Will Gunners stick or twist in quest for title?
- Why Yamal's injury is causing tension between Spain and Barcelona
- When does January transfer window open and close in top leagues?
The trio entered November's international break with just six league goals between them, and with some of their supporting casts shining brighter. Liverpool also brought in Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, Chelsea brought in João Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion and Nick Woltemade's arrival from Stuttgart helped Newcastle offset the loss of Isak and a turbulent summer.
In all, those six forwards cost fees that could total around £471m. This group created the biggest headlines in what was a record summer of spending in the Premier League, surpassing £3 billion in a single window for the first time. So why haven't the early months gone to plan?
Alexander Isak
Maybe this situation was oversimplified. Adding one of the best strikers around, in peak form, to a team that strolled to the league title in 2024-26 led many to believe Liverpool were clear favourites to repeat the feat this season. Eleven games in and Liverpool sit in eighth place, eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal, who may well have made a concerted effort to sign Isak themselves had they believed he was available, prior to switching their attentions elsewhere.
Only Mohamed Salah (47) registered more goals and assists in the league last season than Isak's 29, making Liverpool's attraction obvious. Isak is too talented not to get the benefit of the doubt right now, not least given the mitigating factors. The fact he would not need time to adjust to a new league was offset by the protracted nature of his transfer, training by himself for several weeks as Newcastle played hardball over his departure. The 26-year-old only completed his move on deadline day, and then required a proper "preseason" before being ready to start a game.
Liverpool have had to balance their obvious desire to integrate such an expensive player into the team with the knowledge that his chequered injury history makes rushing him a risk. Isak already suffered a groin injury against Frankfurt last month. Sources have told ESPN that at least two of the other clubs interested in Isak this summer harboured doubts about Isak's durability, especially at the fee being quoted, and it may be that Liverpool had the idea to rotate Isak and Ekitike to help guard against injury concerns.
Isak has also clearly not been helped by the wider instability at Liverpool and the struggles of other new signings, most obviously Florian Wirtz. Manager Arne Slot is searching for his best XI. To date, Isak has played just 253 minutes in the league across four appearances, his sole shot on target coming in last month's home defeat to Manchester United when sent clean through.
Liverpool have not yet worked out how to play to his strengths. Isak will surely get better, and Liverpool need him to fast.
1:33
Is Sesko the right striker for Man United?
Gab Marcotti assesses whether Benjamin Sesko should move to Manchester United amid links to the Premier League club.
Benjamin Sesko
There was some surprise that after signing Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, United channelled their limited funds toward a centre-forward when central midfield appeared such an obvious area of need.
Arsenal extensively scouted Sesko and held talks with his agent, but ultimately decided to pursue the more experienced and proven option in Gyökeres. Newcastle were also interested as it became clear Isak would push hard for a move away, but Sesko still chose to join United. His two league goals -- against Brentford and Sunderland -- were two close-range, opportunistic finishes and came from a total of seven shots on target across 618 minutes in 11 appearances.
To some extent, the 22-year-old is a victim of the state of flux around United. Ruben Amorim's side painfully lacked creativity last season, and their completely new forward line will take time to gel. Sources suggest Sesko is working hard behind the scenes, voluntarily extending training sessions as United work out how to get the best out of the Slovenia international, who Amorim has described as a "control freak."
In that same news conference last week, Amorim said "he has more potential than I was thinking," which strongly suggests there were differing views internally over Sesko's ability prior to signing him. Sources added that United believe internal data suggests Sesko's work off the ball is better than Rasmus Høljund, who was sent to Napoli on loan.
However, Sesko has looked alarmingly short on confidence in key moments. Micky van de Ven is one of the quickest centre-backs in England, but Sesko lacked conviction when sent clear by Mason Mount during the second half of United's 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, failing to get a clean shot away as Van de Ven recovered. He was pictured leaving the stadium afterward on crutches with a knee complaint and although United have played down the severity of the injury, any absence would delay the kickstart his career in England seems to need.
Time is on Sesko's side for now, but the pressure will mount when Amorim's attacking options reduce as Mbeumo and Amad Diallo leave for the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
1:48
Arteta: Viktor Gyokeres 'exceptional' for Arsenal in Burnley win
Mikel Arteta praises Viktor Gyokeres' performance during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Burnley to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Viktor Gyökeres
It may feel harsh to include Gyökeres here given he has six goals in 14 appearances -- four of those in the league -- and Arsenal sit top of the table with a four-point lead over Manchester City. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has repeatedly praised Gyökeres' all-round contributions, and sources have told ESPN there was a recognition when signing the 27-year-old that they would have to adapt their style to get the best from him. That adaptation process is still taking place, perhaps in part explaining why Arsenal's position at the top of the table has been founded on defensive brilliance and set-piece skill rather than free-flowing, free-scoring football.
Gyökeres ' four league goals have come from eight shots on target across 802 minutes in 10 appearances. Those goals came against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Burnley supplemented by a UEFA Champions League brace against Atlético Madrid, both close-range finishes with one owing plenty to luck.
Gyökeres is yet to silence the doubters that he can settle the biggest games in the manner you'd expect from someone who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP. The question was always whether that devastating form would translate into the Premier League. There are signs it might -- his link-up play and ability to occupy centre-backs has generally been good -- but the deadly touch in front of goal is yet to materialise.
He was viewed upon signing as the final piece of the puzzle, the top-class, consistent goalscorer Arsenal have craved for years. The way Arsenal are going right now, what he is doing may be enough, but at some point Gyökeres will likely need to find the net more often to keep his team on track for the silverware they crave.
1:52
Marcotti explains why the Premier League had a record transfer window
Gab Marcotti looks at the reasons why Premier League clubs were able to pass the £3 billion mark in transfer spending in the summer window.
How do their starts compare to Premier League greats?
Conclusively judging any player -- especially those new to the league -- after three months is of course premature, but it is the fate that even the very best forward face.
Alan Shearer's haul of 260 Premier League goals continues to stand as the division's record. He scored seven goals and registered four assists in his first 10 games for Newcastle in 1996 after transferring from Blackburn Rovers for a world-record fee of £15m.
Wayne Rooney, third on the list with 208, made his first appearance for Manchester United in October 2004 and scored four goals in his opening eight matches. Mohamed Salah, fourth on the list, scored seven in his first 10 league games for Liverpool. Sergio Agüero (sixth) scored nine in his first 10 games for Manchester City. Other names do not feel a fair comparison, given Harry Kane's slowburning start to his career at Tottenham did not garner the same focus (he is No. 2 on the list) while Frank Lampard plundered a remarkable 177 goals from midfield.
Perhaps encouragement can be taken from Thierry Henry, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history -- he managed just one goal from his opening 10 matches for Arsenal as his conversion from winger to centre-forward took shape.
Just don't look at Erling Haaland: from his first 12 starts in 2022, he scored 18 goals for Manchester City.
Haaland sets the benchmark
There have been promising returns from others. While Liverpool's pursuit of Isak went to the wire, Ekitike filled the gap with two goals in his first three games. João Pedro had the benefit of joining up with Chelsea in time to play at the FIFA Club World Cup, scoring three times at that tournament including against Paris Saint-Germain in the final, before adding two more goals in the first three games of this season. However, eight games without a goal ended with the winner against Tottenham at the start of the month.
Woltemade has scored six goals in 14 games for Newcastle, seemingly adapting quicker to the division than many anticipated and defying the fact the club pursued Ekitike and Sesko before eventually settling on the 23-year-old. His impact has been all the more welcome given Newcastle also spent £55m to sign Yoane Wissa from Brentford, but a knee injury sustained days after his move has meant the 29-year-old is yet to make his debut.
An honorary mention should go to Igor Thiago at Brentford -- not a new signing this summer given he joined from Club Brugge for £30m in July 2024 -- but injuries restricted him to just eight appearances. Thiago has scored eight goals in 11 games, a tally only bettered by Haaland, who should have the final word after such a destructive start to the campaign.
From 11 matches and 948 minutes in the league, Haaland has scored 14 goals. That record extends to 28 in 18 for City and Norway. In fact, in those 18 games, the only opponents who have stopped him scoring are Tottenham and Aston Villa. Haaland's form is a standout reason why City could once again challenge for the title this season. The others, for now at least, are all playing catch-up.
ESPN's Rob Dawson and Beth Lindop contributed to this report
